Weymouth Woman Admits to $700,000 Theft To Fund Lavish Lifestyle

BOSTON, MA – A Weymouth woman admitted in federal court to stealing more than $700,000 from her Hingham -based employer to fund a lavish lifestyle that included a boat, travel and private-school tuition.

In U.S. District Court on Tuesday, Katelin Garland, 39, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to two years in prison followed by two years of supervised release after she pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Garland was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $656,825.

Court documents state that Garland was an administrative manager for William Raveis Real Estate & Affiliates in Hingham where Garland was responsible for depositing checks received, maintaining the record-keeping system, and requesting checks payable for entities in connection with business services.

From approximately October 2011 to October 2015, Garland took advantage of flaws in her employer’s accounting and auditing systems and requested checks payable to fictitious names, which she then endorsed and deposited to a bank account she controlled.

To conceal the scheme, Garland made false entries in her employer’s record-keeping system concerning those payments. Garland used the funds to pay for living expenses, tickets to sporting events, private school tuition for her children, as well as to purchase a boat, travel and shop.

In a sentencing memorandum, Garland's attorney said his client, who had no prior criminal record, was a loving mother who suffers from a number of mental- health issues.